~A~

Family

~A~

Katara eyed the back of the complicated prince that had just up and joined them after months of chasing them, and wondered what was bothering him. He'd been even more quiet than usual after they'd returned from tracking down Yon Rha, and she was a little surprised by that.

Yes, he was normally a pretty quiet guy, but he was even more so now, and it was a bit strange that he was the one that seemed morose and confused rather than her, since it was her mother's murderer they'd been after. It had nothing directly to do with him, and yet the whole thing seemed to have bothered him greatly.

Her brow furrowed a little as she remembered how he'd acted after coming back with Sokka from the Boiling Rock Prison with Suki and her father in tow. He'd been just as withdrawn then, and it had taken a little while for that to fade, despite the interference from his sister's attack at the Western Air Temple. He'd woken up from his daze for that fight, but then gone right back into it anytime they weren't doing something to take his attention away from whatever it was that was bothering him. And she'd also noticed him watching her and Sokka a lot, almost as if he didn't understand their interactions.

She figured he probably didn't, what with the way his family was and all, and that really bothered her.

Back then she hadn't cared much why he was upset, because so was she. He was partially responsible for Aang's death even though he hadn't actually been the one to land the killing blow, and even though she'd now forgiven him for his previous actions there were times it was still hard not to get angry when she'd remember how the young monk's lifeless body had fallen into her arms. His beautiful, soft gray eyes had almost been lost to her forever, and it was hard to think about that and not get upset. But she was getting better with it, and right now she was concerned for Zuko and wanted to help him if she could.

"Hey," she said softly as she approached him and sat down next to him, curling her legs comfortably to the side.

Zuko glanced at her sideways for a moment and then his eyes flicked away, but not before Katara caught the lonely, sad expression in them. A wave of sympathy went through her for him, and she gently touched his shoulder.

"What's wrong?"

There was no answer for a couple of minutes, but she waited patiently, letting him gather his thoughts.

"What's it like to have a real family?"

Katara blinked, a little surprised at his opening query, but not really at the topic. She'd just thought he'd lead into it a little more slowly and cautiously.

She sighed as she thought about his question, running through her memories. Her family had been broken by the war, that was true, but she'd had one that was very different than his – she still did. A small smile lit her face.

"It's like what we all have, Zuko. Me, Aang, Sokka, Toph... and you. We're family."

The firebender looked at her in shock. "You... you count me as... family too, after everything I've done? But we're not related at all! None of you are except you and Sokka."

She shook her head at him. "Family is where you make it. Families are the people that care about you, that love you. Iroh is your family, but the Firelord and Azula? Not family. And us... we care about you, too. You're a part of us now and we don't like to see you upset."

"So... you're saying that blood doesn't mean anything, that... love... does?" he asked, almost looking scared to say the word 'love', like he was afraid that the moment he said it she would rescind her words and leave him hanging there with a laugh.

"That's what I'm saying." She smiled encouragingly at him and squeezed his shoulder before letting her hand fall. "I'll let you alone to think about it, but remember... we're your family now, so you can tell us if something's wrong. We can't help you work it out if you don't say anything, and that's what family does – they help, love, support, and protect each other. Just like we do," she added, gesturing at herself and then the rest of the gang behind them.

With that and one last smile she stood up and walked back over to the campfire where the others were just relaxing on the beach as dusk fell before going back to the house to sleep, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

But they were a little bit lighter than they had been as he pondered on what she'd said and how it had made him feel, and by the time he returned to the group his face had lightened and his eyes had opened up just a little.

He was still hiding a great deal of himself away in those eyes of his, though Katara didn't think he knew just how expressive they really were, but it was still a start.

One that everyone was happy to see.